Rose Hill Farm Silos (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the silos once stood. No visible remains exist.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2015 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

Another symbol of Franconia’s history is about to be sacrificed on the gallows of progress. A plan has been approved, or soon will be, to demolish the silos at what once was the Meadowbrook Recreation Center on May Boulevard in Rose Hill. The property is zoned R-3, the same as the rest of Rose Hill, and 12 houses are to be built on the approximately five acres.

So, the silos will become just a memory for current residents. Those who follow us will see them only on film. They are the last example of Franconia’s agricultural past. Silos are a relatively new addition to the farm culture, having been invented about 100 years ago. The Rose Hill silos are at least 70 years old. They are important because of their symbolism.

Franconia once was a farming community. After World War II, the first “crop of choice” was single family homes with large yards. Later, townhouses became the norm as open space was consolidated for the benefit of all. Even poor soil conditions didn’t deter the march of development.

The stately silos of Rose Hill will soon join what the old-timers called the “ash heap of history.” Sad, because it doesn’t have to be that way. The Franconia Museum supported either incorporating the silos into the design of the new community or moving them onto nearby park property. The first step would be an examination to determine if the silos could either be preserved in place or moved.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know as the property owner has chosen to move ahead without any regard for the fate of the silos. Sad, because the owner, Claude Wheeler, lives on the property and has made his livelihood in Franconia. He plans to name the new street off of May Boulevard “Rose Hill Farm” Drive, presumably in honor of what was once there.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here is an excerpt about the silos as written by Carl Sell, Jr. for the Rose Hill Civic Association:

In the very early 1950s, a Sunday drive out to the country from Washington, Alexandria and Arlington could include the pastoral scenes along Telegraph or Franconia Roads. From either road, you could see the cattle grazing on the 700-acre farm called Rose Hill owned by R.L. May, president of the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Bus Company (AB&W). Mr. May also invited his employees to the farm for an annual country picnic.

The silos that stored the grain to feed those cattle were standing until recently as part of the private school on May Boulevard. They were incorporated as showers for the Rose Hill Swimming and Tennis Club that opened in 1956. Heritage Academy was later located on the site. The silos were demolished to build a new housing subdivision.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows a couple of articles from the Patch Newspaper about the silos:

Are the Rose Hill Silos Historically Significant?
RHCA President Carl Sell plans to submit nomination this weekend.

Written by William Callahan, Patch Staff
Posted Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 7:31 pm ET

Rose Hill Civic Association President Carl Sell intends to settle the debate over the Rose Hill silos’ historical significance.

Sell, who has lived in Rose Hill since the early 1960s, is drawing up paperwork to nominate the locally famous silos for inclusion in Fairfax County’s Inventory of Historical Sites. The silos are part of the now empty KinderCare site on May Boulevard in Rose Hill.

Sell said he hopes to submit the nomination form to Fairfax County’s History Commission by Friday, Sept. 23, or Saturday, Sept. 24.

The nomination is the latest step in Sell’s ongoing campaign to “save” the silos from possible demolition in a proposed development of 13 single-family homes on the property owned by Claude Wheeler of .

If Sell submits the nomination by Friday or Saturday, the Fairfax County History Commission could review it during their October meeting and reach a decision as early as November 2011.

"It depends on how complete the nomination is when it’s submitted," said Laurie Turkaski, a representative from the Fairfax County office of planning and zoning, in a phone interview.

A Question of Age

Sell says he believes the silos have been in Rose Hill and Franconia for at least 100 years, but that he is not sure of their exact age.

"I remember the silos and the Rose Hill farm before there was [the suburb] Rose Hill," he said. "These silos were preserved for a reason in the 1950s."

The area was a dairy farm, according to Sell, who has been researching the silos to submit information to the county.

"The silos were used for the May dairy farm and they needed a place to store the grain to feed the cows," he said.

'Significant' Doesn't Mean 'Saved'

But a place on the county’s historic inventory won’t necessarily put the silos out of harm's way. “Being listed on the inventory of historic sites doesn’t impose any restrictions on the property," Turkaski said.

According to the County's website: "At least 60 of these [historically designated] sites have been demolished since the creation of the Inventory. Inclusion on the Inventory is an honorary designation, and does not impose restrictions or limits as to what an owner can do with his property."

Turkaski and Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay said Wheeler is pursuing a by-right development within the property’s current zoning regulations. "It’s already zoned and planned for single-family homes," McKay said. "It doesn't go through a citizen process."

A Neighborhood Staple

Shirley Bennington has lived on May Boulevard in Rose Hill for about 45 years and can see the silos from her front yard. “We’re going to miss them because they’ve always been there,” she said. “They’re a part of the neighborhood.”

Sell said he knew Wheeler can do what he wants with his property. "We’re not objecting to him building on his property," he said. "He has every right to do that. We are objecting to him not preserving the silos."

Wheeler told Patch he did not seem to think there was a controversy over the silos but declined further comment.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows another article from the Patch Newspaper about the silos:

Saving Silos: Carl Sell Attempts to Preserve Past in His D.C. Suburb
A developer wants to demolish relics of former farm community.

Written by Tracy Bank, Neighbor
Posted Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 2:28 pm ET

In an age when Washington D.C. suburbs resemble small cities, traffic snarls in the middle of the day and townhouses line crowded side streets, Rose Hill has stood the test of time as an oasis of green lawns and family homes. And Carl Sell wants to keep it that way.

As president of , Sell said he feels the history of Rose Hill and the surrounding area is just as important as neighborhood beautification and structural upkeep. The land on which he has lived for more than 50 years was part of a large agricultural and gravel mining operation. Before that, it was the site of Colonel John Singleton Mosby’s Confederate raid on Rose Hill in 1863.

Sell’s community involvement runs deep in Rose Hill. A retired sports editor for the Washington Star and baseball fan, Sell was a coach and eventually president of the local Pioneer Baseball League. Using that experience, he helped start a basketball league and football league complete with cheerleaders.

His league work with former led him to a position on the county’s Park Authority where he helped come to fruition. He later led the county’s Planning Commission for 20 years, helping to plan and develop Kingstowne, a 5,300- home community near Rose Hill.

Today Sell is part of a movement in Rose Hill to save . “The silos depict the agricultural nature of Rose Hill and Franconia up until the boom which took place after World War II,” he said.

The property on which the silos stand is privately owned, and currently in planning stages for the development of 13 homes on the five-acre site. The plans do not include keeping the silos.

“I recognize [the developer's] legal rights to develop the property,” said Sell, who filed nomination paperwork in September to include the silos in Fairfax County’s Inventory of Historical Sites to help save them from demolition. “But I would hope that he would incorporate the silos…I think it’s important to preserve them.”

Sell’s dedication to the history of his community also led him to become involved in the local Franconia history museum where he serves as a volunteer. “In order to preserve for the future, you have to understand the past,” claimed Sell.

As a retired senior living out his golden years in Rose Hill, does he ever see himself slowing down?

“No, I gotta keep moving,” laughed Sell. “If you don’t keep moving, you’ll shrivel up and blow away, and I’m not going to let that happen.”


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the Spring 2013 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

The Mays Of Rose Hill
Written by Carl Sell

Rose Hill has a long and storied history reaching back to Revolutionary days when the Frenches of Franconia counted the Washingtons and Masons as family friends. During the Civil War the manor house was the subject of a famous raid by Confederate John Singleton Mosby. Until the 1950s, important local families either lived or visited there.

The last owner of Rose Hill was Robert Lee May, owner of the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Transit Company. May and his wife, Lula Barr May, bought the 60-plus acres and the house from George W. Peverill in 1937. The land previously was owned by Edwin Montgomery West, whose grandson, Dave, would later become the president of the civic association representing owners of the houses built on the land. The Mays would own the land until the 1950s when it was sold and subdivided into the large community that exists today.

The Mays moved into the manor house that had been built to replace the original house that burned in January 1895 because of an overheated chimney. The house was located on a bluff overlooking the valley that provided a view across the Potomac River to Maryland. That view remains today from the backyards of homes built on the cul-de-sac of May Boulevard. Also remaining are twin silos that served the Mays’ dairy farm. They were incorporated into a community center that was built in the 1950s.

In the early 1940s, a young man from Franconia named Joseph Alexander would deliver the Washington Times Herald and the Alexandria Gazette to the Mays’ front door, riding his bike up a long lane from Franconia Road that was bordered by a white fence and rose bushes. A little more than 20 years later, Alexander and his bride Davie would buy a house and start their family in the new Rose Hill community as Joe began a 32-year career as the Lee District member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Jay Johnson, the great grandson of R.L. May, recalls the house had an elevator in the foyer so his great grandmother, who was confined to a wheelchair, could use both levels of the house. Johnson also recalls herding cows with his great grandfather during a snowstorm in the 1940s. He provides a visual description of the road flanked by rose bushes that led from Franconia Road to a circular driveway in the rear of the house.

In 1921, the Mays started what would become a bus company connecting all of Northern Virginia to Washington by the 1960s. On the first trip, from Columbia Pike to downtown, they had one customer and he paid 15 cents for the ride. Robert May was the president and regular bus driver for the company. Lula May was the secretary and part-time bus driver. They had two children, a son Beverly and a daughter, Alice.

Before starting the business, May worked as a streetcar motorman in the District of Columbia, was a member of the D.C. police force and served on the White house detail for the Secret Service during the administration of Woodrow Wilson.

Tragedy struck the May family when Robert and Lula’s grandson, Robert L. May II, and his bride, Elizabeth, were murdered by a hitchhiker near Boys Town, Nebraska, in August of 1947. The younger May was the son of Beverly and Virginia May. He and his wife were returning from a motor trip to Colorado when they were killed. They were traveling in a 1946 Chrysler owned by his grandparents. Both of the younger Mays worked for A. B. & W., Robert in public relations and Elizabeth in purchasing. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Piele of Alexandria.

The bodies of Robert and Elizabeth were found in a corn field by two young boys on their way to work. Although his wallet and his wife’s pocketbook were missing, identification was made through a license issued to May’s grandmother that was found in his pocket. The blood-stained Chrysler was found in nearby Omaha a few hours after the August 27 discovery of the bodies. Two young AWOL soldiers were arrested but their fingerprints did not match any of those in the car. The Mays were killed by a .38 caliber handgun. The following spring, authorities interviewed a Colorado inmate on death row but were convinced he was not the killer of the Mays.

In December of 1948, Charles E. McCelland, 19, signed a statement admitting he had killed the Mays and elected to plead guilty to second-degree murder rather than face a trial for first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. At the time of his arrest, the former carnival worker was serving a two to three-year sentence in Colorado on a bad check charge.

In the early 1950s, Robert May decided to turn the operation of the bus company over to his son Beverly, retaining the title of Chairman of the Board. Beverly was president of the company. Robert and Lula also sold Rose Hill about the same time and began to spend their time in Inverness, Florida. During their careers, A. B. & W. employees referred to May as the “Captain” and Mrs. May as “Mom”.

At the time of Robert May’s death in 1962, A. B. & W served 17 million riders annually. It became part of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority system in 1973. Metrorail and Metrobus now total more than 400 million riders per year. Joe Alexander represented Fairfax County on the Metro Board for 23 years and served four different stints as its chairman. Lula May died five months after her husband. Beverly May died in 1972.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2017 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

President’s Message … Written by Carl Sell

The ongoing attempt to rewrite history has shown up at our doorstep. The Rose Hill silos, some of the last symbols of Franconia’s agricultural history, were destroyed in August to make room for additional houses. Once a huge working farm that dated back to pre-revolutionary days, the Rose Hill estate is now completely covered with houses, a shopping center, school, library and golf course. The original owner of the estate, Daniel French, was among those who started the construction of Pohick Church in the mid-1700s.

The silos were added to the estate as storage for grain for cattle sometime after the turn of the Twentieth Century. Silos weren’t invented until that time. A grandson of R. L. May, who owned the farm in the 1930s, 40s and early 1950s, recalls helping herd cows into the barn around 1950. The property was sold in the early 1950s, but the silos and barn were preserved as part of a community center and swimming pool complex. The silos were used as shower facilities for the pool.

The financial burden of operating the pool and center became too high for residents so the property was sold to private interests and subsequently used for private education and day care facilities. The current owner, Claude Wheeler, operated a private school of general education there for many years and then leased the property to others, including Kindercare.

Two years ago, Wheeler proposed to sell the property to a large church and school operation, requiring a Special Exception for use of residentially owned land for that purpose. Residents objected, citing the large amount of traffic the church-school would produce on a dead end street and the proposal was rejected. As president of the Rose Hill Civic Association, I represented the citizens in their effort.

The Museum Board of Directors urged the county staff to help protect the silos for their historic significance. Unfortunately, the effort got lost in the bureaucracy despite the support of citizens, the Museum and Supervisor Jeff McKay. The land owner moved ahead with the demolition of the silos and barn and will build 13 houses on the property, which is zoned R-3 (three units per acre).

Several scenarios were suggested that would allow the silos to remain as part of an entrance feature for the new houses. The owner rejected that as too costly and began the demolition process. After the utilities were removed, the owner’s representative announced on Facebook: “Now the fun begins.”

Fun indeed! Nothing funny about destroying history!